Parental Filter

Do you give your children chores to do around the house? I know many parents that don't. They tell me that kids should be outside playing and helping out in the home is not something they should do.

I disagree. I've always given my kids some chores to do around the home. I'm not talking about scrubbing the floors but things like dusting, helping to fold the clothes, helping me shop, and things like that.

I've learned that kids like to help out. I used to give my child a list of what I had to buy at the store. Even when she couldn't read she would hand me the list she held and asked what she should look for on the shelves.

Once my husband took her shopping with him and he picked up a different kind of bread and my daughter told him to buy the usually brand. She was so proud to have helped him.

Kids like to feel responsible for something. They take a great amount of pride when you tell them that they did a great job dusting.

My daughter doesn't do anything major in the house but it is kind of her "responsibility" to pick up after herself and return her toys after playing with them. It's not much really but it's a good start. I don't bring her during grocery shopping because I find it that I could get the job done faster when I am alone, but you have given me an idea there, I bet she would love coming along with me to grocery shop. I might try that.

Yes, is a very good thing to give children something to do from an early age so that they raise with the idea that everybody is useful in the house ;they should feel that are of much help doing some of the chores and praised for that .
If you miss this period and don't ask them to do anything it would be much more difficult to convince them to help you after they're already grown.

I totally agree with you. It really makes me mad by seeing my child doing nothing. I have to "bait" them to do some of the houseworks by giving them a little pocket money. If they don't start to do things around the house in their young age, I believe when they are adult, they won't lift a hand on the houseworks. I feel that by giving them pocket money can teach them that money have to be earned, not put your hand out and received them.

I think it is important to give children responsibility for chores within the family from an early age. It will start off with very small things, but it helps them to learn many useful skills.

I agree, it is important to teach children to take care of their surroundings, yes it starts small but it is establishing good habits and teaching important skills.

This is a very good way to start with responsibilities, yes. Sometimes things we as adults think are almost too tiny to delegate to a child turn out to be something that gives them tons of self esteem because they're trusted to do it.

That is another good point as well as responsibility they get self esteem from doing the job well and being praised for it. It feels good to be trusted to do a job, even a small job.

When our kids began doing chores in earnest when I went to work (after my daughter went to middle school) we always paid them. They shared doing the dishes and doing their laundry. Came to find out recently that my son hated doing his laundry (he was always creating pink underwear and the like) that he hired his little sister to do his.

I don't pay for regular chores, that is part of their responsibility to the family (I don't ask them to do too much), but if they do extra I pay them for that.